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Now Is Christ Risen

20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:20-22 - - - in the Holy Bible)

Our Justification

20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;
24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus Christ our Lord from the dead;
25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. (Romans 4:20-25 - - - in the Holy Bible)

Understanding Good Friday

Understanding and fully appreciating the horror of Good Friday helps us understand and fully appreciate the justice of Mark 16:16.

Come

The Gift of God

22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants of God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:22-23 - - - in the Holy Bible)

Be Ye Holy

15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. (1 Peter 1:15-16 - - - in the Holy Bible)

Righteous Judgment

Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. (John 7:24 - - in the Holy Bible)

The Beautiful Reality Of The True God

The Twenty-First Century, with all of its "man has arrived" insinuations, presents an excellent opportunity and fertile landscape for massive Christian evangelism. A cursory glance would cause some to assume otherwise, but history dictates a different reality.

The very elements which would seem to make Christian evangelism less effective and lead some to neglect it, may very well be the elements needed to enhance its productivity.

True, there is an "intellectual genre" whose agenda is to force polytheistic views on all of mankind. Their warrant rests on the "rock" of logic. Simply stated, they contend that anyone ascribing to his/her god as being the only true God is out of touch with both reality per se and particularly the reality of the Twenty-First Century. If one is content with his/her footing on the "rock" of logic, the argument of this particular "intellectual genre" seems to make sense. After all, how dare you declare that your God is the only God? There are billions of people on Earth but you, you and others who believe as you do are so bold as to defy the collective intellect of billions and state that only your group has found the true God. How intellectually absurd!!! The foregoing constitutes part of their argument and admittedly it sounds logical and worthy of subscription. However, one of the primary weaknesses of logic is that logic itself is not truth itself and the logical process does not always lead to truth or The Truth. And so, the seeker of true and unfaltering reality must never be satisfied with logic. One must remember that logic, whether assumptive or empirical, is still logic and must always yield to intrinsic truth.

History reveals that Christian evangelism has engaged and been victorious over many logisticians. Some were friendly logisticians. Others were hostile. Among the friendly logisticians were Zacharias the father of John the Baptist. Zacharias's logic led to a divine penalty of being dumb and not able to speak (for a season). Many of Jesus's own countrymen, indeed some of His immediate family, were friendly logisticians. Yet Christian evangelism marched right through them and sped timely on its way.

Saul of Tarsus was a hostile logistician who, according to his own words, "persecuted the church of God, and wasted it" (Galatians 1:13). The word arrested Saul on the Damascus Road and the gospel kept on marching. Demetrius the silversmith and a number of craftsmen were hostile logisticians who sought to thwart the effectiveness of Christian evangelism, they were silenced (Acts Chapter 19) and Christian evangelism marched on its way.

And so is the history of Christian evangelism. Winning souls for Christ has not been "a piece of cake". The roll call of Christian martyrs attests to the intensity, seriousness and ferocity of the struggle, but the gates of hell have NOT prevailed (and they NEVER will).

From a hostile Palestine under the sway of the Herodians to a powerful Rome, Christian evangelism marched on (conquering every step of the way). From 33 AD to 1999 AD the bearers of the cross have not failed to raise the battle Cry, "Ye must be born again".

Nicodemus was a logistician of sorts. Jesus gave him truth. Nicodemus said to Jesus, "Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." (John 3:2-6). Nicodemus spoke logic. Jesus spoke truth. As in the case of Nicodemus, logic will sometimes drive logisticians to seek answers from Christ. So it was with Nicodemus. So it will be with us if we allow the power of God to work mightily through us. How they come to Christ is not nearly as important as the fact that they come to Him and receive LIFE ETERNAL. Therefore, we must remember the command from our Commander: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned:" (Mark 16:15-16).

Many of us say we believe but how weak our faith appears to be!!! Some of us seem afraid to confront the logisticians with the truth. Yet we say we want to "be like Jesus". Jesus was not afraid to speak truth in the face of opposition. We are more "astute" though. We don't want to "offend" anyone. Remember, Only he who is holding on to a lie takes offense at the truth. Likewise, those who love living in darkness hate the light.

Unbelieving logisticians and ALL OTHERS WHO DO NOT BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST ARE CONDEMNED. How out of place that statement sounds as we speed toward a one-world Twenty-First Century. How out of step and out of sync with Twenty-First Century reality such a seemingly narrow-minded, tunnel-visionistic statement sounds. As many look forward to living peacefully together on an international space station and to the construction of many other stations in space, how anachronistic we Christians must sound. I know it seems to sound one-track-minded. I know it seems to be drastically out-of-sync with where many world "movers and shakers" think our world is going. But, there is a reality which I know and of which I harbor no doubt at all. I am happy to have this great opportunity to stand on the rapidly receding periphery of the Twentieth-Century and both boldly and loudly shout into the rapidly approaching Twenty-First Century, "YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN".

With one foot anchored in the reality of the present chronology, I employ the other to briefly step back into the land of Uz and shout with faithful Job, "For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another;" (Job 19:25-27).

Dearly Beloved, the Twenty-First Century needs the TRUTH, THE TRUTH, THE TRUTH, (and not lies). Regardless of how anachronistic, one-track-minded, archaic, or tunnel-visionistic the Truth of Jesus Christ sounds, we must proclaim the truth. We must not allow the "intellectual genre" to hinder the proclamation of the truth. Jesus is real. If you know Him the way I know Him there is NO question in either your mind or heart as to His reality or His divinity. If you really believe Him, why not obey Him? Are you afraid? He has given us a command against the fear of man. Hear Him now: "And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him." (Luke 12:4-5). He has all power in heaven and earth and He will be with us. Again, hear Him: "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." (Matthew 28:18-20).

We have His command to Go. We have His word that He has all power in heaven and in earth; and we have His assurance that He will be with us alway. What else do we need? Of course, to the unsaved "believer" the above means little or nothing at all. How sad!!!

To those of you who are truly saved, I repeat my initial contention: The Twenty-First Century presents an excellent opportunity and fertile landscape for massive Christian evangelism. As discussed above, Christianity has always encountered opposition and has survived. Logisticians are dealing from the weak and beggarly temporal realm. We are operating from the eternal realm of Spirit and truth. If we are to fulfill our evangelistic mandate and truly be like Jesus, we must not tip-toe around the truth. Jesus was more confrontational than many of us realize. Hear Him as He talks to the Samaritan woman at the well. She speaks from a position of logic, hearsay and tradition (interspersed with fragments of scripture). He speaks truth. Listen to the conversation: "There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, asketh drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans." (John 4:7-9). She argues logic and the status quo. (So will some of your opposition ["What are you talking about, this is the Twenty-First Century, where've you been?"] ). Jesus didn't allow her little defective paradigm to sidetrack Him. Also, He doesn't try to placate her; He immediately gives her the truth. Hear Him: "Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water." (John 4:10). It is apparent from the conversations Jesus held that he considered every encounter precious and every word important. He never played with people. He came to seek and to save that which was lost. We are now partakers of and participants in that mission. The Samaritan woman now falls back to an archetypal position and attempts to counter Him with another round of expedient statements and questions. Let's listen: "The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?" (John 4:11-12). Again, Jesus replies with direct truth: "Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." (John 4:13-14). It is now, as a result of the direct truth of the word of God spoken to the individual, that we begin to observe a change in the woman's attitude. The power of God's word, God's truth, is now having an effect on her. Listen to her: "The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw." (John 4:15). Dear friends, if a breakthrough is to result from our evangelistic efforts, that breakthrough will be as a result of the application of the word of God. Jesus knew that and he employed the word. Now if He who IS THE WORD employed the word, shouldn't we? The Apostle Paul knew and subscribed to the exact same principle. Thus he writes, "I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth: to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith." (Romans 1:14-17).

So, Dearly Beloved, just as the First Century was not one for the compromising of the truth, neither is the Twenty-First Century. How dare we become slack in our evangelistic efforts. Of course the forces of Satan will oppose us. They have always resisted the truth. That's why we are needed. If there was no opposition, if everyone readily accepted the Lord, our task would be "a piece of cake". But the Bible declares that we are in a war. Satan wars against us individually and collectively as well as against our efforts to evangelize the unsaved. As in the First Century, the Twenty-First Century is a time to apply God's word to our own lives as well as to the lives of those we seek to evangelize. Thus Paul says, "(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;" (II Corinthians 10:4-5)

So then, seeing that evangelism has always been an endeavor fraught with opposition, let not the tenor of the time hinder our effectiveness. If you are a student of scripture then you know that we are in a wrestling match: "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." (Ephesians 6:10-13).

Historians report that some of the First Century Romans characterized the Christians among them as being peculiar people. The my-God-is-the-one-and-only-true-God declaration does indeed cause Christians to appear to be peculiar people. However, it is perhaps that same peculiarity that led to Rome's becoming the centre of Christian practice and authority. Those who would minister to Twenty-First Century man must remember, The God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel is indeed the only true God!!! This very fact, that He is the only true God, gives us great advantages. First of all, we know Him. We are saved. Secondly, those who fight against us are actually fighting against Him (Gamaliel informed the Council of this fact [Acts 5:35, 38-40] ). Thirdly, since their "gods" are not really true gods, they are placed at a distinct disadvantage. So let us minister to all of the Twenty-First Century world, love them and live holy before them. The beautiful reality of the only true God will take care of the rest.

_______ 3 Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. 4 But when they in their trouble did turn unto the Lord God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them. (II Chronicles 15:3-4)

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10 But the Lord is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation. (Jeremiah 10:10)

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3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. (John 17:3)

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4 As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. 5 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many and lords many,) 6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him: and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. (I Corinthians 8:4-6)

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9 For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; 10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. (I Thessalonians 1:9-10).

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5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. (I Timothy 2:5-6)

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20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. (I John 5:20). The Holy Bible

Intermittent Stream

Stay Holy

4And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. 5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. (Revelation 18:4 - 5) The Holy Bible

Fear Almighty God

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever. (Psalm 111:10)